US GDP shrinks 3.8%, most in 26 yrs

The world's largest economy US has contracted 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, the most since 1982, as the worst ever financial turmoil in nearly 80 years crimped consumer and business spending.
The nation's economy which officially entered into recession in December 2007, shrunk 3.8 per cent in the December quarter, according to the advanced estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Moreover, the decline is the worst since the GDP fell 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of 1982.
"Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008," the BEA which is part of the Commerce Department said in a statement today.
In the third quarter of last year, the GDP had declined 0.5 per cent.
Reportedly, experts had expected the economy to shrink 5.4 per cent in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, the figure is grim considering the worsening financial situation.
However, the BEA noted that that the fourth quarter advance estimates are based on "source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision..."
For the full year 2008, American economy grew just 1.3 per cent compared to two per cent rise in the year-ago period.
According to the statement, the drop in fourth quarter real GDP was mainly due to negative contributions from exports, personal consumption expenditures, equipment and software and residential fixed investment.
Noting that most of the major components contributed to the decrease in fourth quarter real GDP, BEA said, "the largest contributors were a downturn in exports and a much larger decrease in equipment and software. The most notable offset was a much larger decrease in imports".
Regarding the full year 2008 advanced GDP figure of 1.3 per cent, the BEA pointed out that the growth was primarily on account of exports, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for services, federal government spending, non-residential structures, state and local government spending.
"These were partly offset by residential fixed investment, PCE for goods, equipment and software, and private inventory investment," the statement said.
On the other hand, BEA noted that deceleration in real GDP (as compared to a growth of two per cent in 2007) primarily reflected a sharp fall in PCE, a downturn in equipment and software, and decelerations in exports and in state and local government spending.
Meanwhile, American President Barack Obama is expected to come up wtih an 819-billion dollar stimulus package to bolster the nation's sagging economy and also create nearly four million jobs.

Read more...

Now, Ramadoss targets 'pub culture'

Closing ranks with leaders opposing pub culture in the aftermath of the Mangalore incident, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday said it was against Indian ethos and asserted that the proposed National Alcohol Policy would help curb it.
"We definitely condemn the incident where women were attacked, but the pub culture must stop. It is because of this that youth in the country have taken to drinking in a big way," Ramadoss said at a press conference in new delhi.
Linking youngsters visiting pubs to increased rates of accidents due to drunken driving, he said: "In India, 40 per cent of road accidents are alcohol-related."
These young people not only jeopardise their lives but are also a danger to others on the roads.
"It is not our culture. If it goes this way I don't think India will progress," Ramadoss said adding, most of the people losing their lives due to such road accidents and alcoholism were in their early twenties, which are the most productive years.
Unfortunately over the recent years, there has been a huge percentage of people taking to alcohol.
There is also a study which says that in the last five to six years there is an increase of 60 per cent among the youth who have taken to drinking, he said.

Read more...

26/11 probe report ready; will share findings: Pakistan

Responding to India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comments that Pakistan is unresponsive over 26/11 mumbai terror strike investigation, Pakistan’s External Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the investigation report is ready.
"The Federal Investigation Agency of the Interior Ministry of Pakistan has completed the preliminary investigation and sent (its report) to the Law Department," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters here after addressing a conference at the International Islamic University.
He went on to add that the report will be sent to India and other countries soon.

After a review by the Law Department, the report on the preliminary investigation will be received by the Foreign Ministry and then it will be shared with India and the international community, he said.
"Pakistan has assured India and the world community that it is seriously making progress in the process of investigating the Mumbai attacks and wants to bring the culprits to justice," Qureshi said, adding Pakistan wants peace in the region and good relations with its neighbours.
He said Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik met Home Minister P Chidambaram today and updated him on the latest developments regarding the investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon had on January five handed over to High Commissioner Malik in new delhi the dossier containing evidence, which included confession of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist held during the Mumbai attacks.
Qureshi said Pakistan has always condemned terrorism and extremism in all its forms anywhere in the world and it had been promoting the message of peace and brotherhood.
Pakistan does not want confrontation with anyone in the region as it wants to concentrate on its economic development and strengthening its democratic process, he said.
The country wants to promote the message of peace, love and tolerance and concentrate on trade, he said.
Referring to reports of threat to High Commissioner Malik, Qureshi said the issue was taken up with the Indian government and he had now been provided additional security.

Read more...

Spice Group bids to acquire Satyam

B K Modi-led Spice group on Thursday made a formal bid to acquire scam-hit Satyam Computer, although engineering major Larsen & Toubro has been courting the IT company for a while now.

"Yes, we have given the letter of Expression of Interest to the interim board of Satyam for acquiring controlling stake," diversified Spice group chairman B K Modi said.

The company, sources said, has told the government- appointed board that it has proven management track-record and was hence most suited to turn around the IT company.

Spice group is into the entire domain of entertainment, BPO, IT, retail and mobile handsets business. No price has been discussed so far.

Engineering giant L&T had last week emerged as the front runner for Satyam, which is smarting from a Rs 7,800 crore accounting fraud disclosed by its founder Ramalinga Raju, by increasing its stake in Satyam to over 12 per cent through open market transactions on Friday.

L&T Chairman A M Naik had last Wednesday called on Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta, apparently to discuss its plans for Satyam, whose board met the very next day.

Incidentally, LIC, which has four per cent stake in Satyam and is also the single-largest shareholder of L&T, had said that was not averse to the idea of the IT firm's sale. The board had this week ruled out part sale of the company, saying it was not its mandate to do so at this stage.

Read more...

Stimulus packages working, 7% growth likely: Pranab

The two stimulus packages given by the government to boost the economy have started working and the economic growth in the current year is likely to be seven per cent, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also holding the charge of the Finance Ministry, said here.
"The two stimulus packages have started working...That has been reiterated by the Reserve bank Governor while announcing the (third-quarterly review of the) credit policy," Mukherjee said after his first meeting with Minister of State for finance P K Bansal and senior officials of the ministry at North Block.

Mukherjee took charge of the Finance Ministry as the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was looking after the finance portfolio, is recuperating from a heart surgery at the All-Indian Institute of Medical Science.

The minister was briefed by the senior officials of the finance ministry on various issues, including preparation for interim budget which is to be presented in Parliament next month.

As regards economic growth, Mukherjee said, "though the economy will not grow at 8.9 or 8.8 per cent, it will grow around 7 per cent. There is no doubt about that ... Indian economy is sound and will bounce back ".

The RBI in its review of the credit policy projected a growth rate of 7 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 7.5 to 8 per cent estimated earlier.

On his priority as in-charge of the Finance Ministry, Mukherjee said, "My first priority is to get the vote on account passed. That is the top most priority and it is also a constitutional requirement."

As general elections are due later in the year, the government will have to present an interim budget and get the vote on account approved by Parliament to carry on the essential expenditure.

The government has already convened a fortnight-long session of Parliament on February 12 for completing the essential business.

In addition to secretaries, economic advisor Arvind Virmani and members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) were also present at the meeting to brief Mukherjee.

Read more...

Seven suitors line up for Satyam Computers

New Delhi, Jan 29: Scam-hit Satyam Computer has been approached by as many as seven possible suitors, including private equity players, even as the company's investment bankers are trying to find the best match.
"So far we are aware of four (companies that have approached Satyam Computer). But we have heard that another two or three firms are also interested," Satyam Computer board member Tarun Das, who is also the chief mentor of industry body CII told reporters here.

Investment bankers are talking to everybody and finding out which firm is interested, what is the level of seriousness and are evaluating the proposal before getting back to the board. The process is likely to take six weeks, Das added.

Earlier this week, the board of Satyam Computer Services appointed Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital as investment bankers and mandated Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to act as its management adviser.

Asked whether Satyam's founder Ramalinga Raju had inflated employee numbers as claimed by the Andhra Pradesh police, Das said: "We have done a head count using external agencies and we believe in the basis of investigation that we are well over 50,000 people in Satyam. So I do not think that there is any inflated numbers."

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh CID had claimed in a court that there were 13,000 ghost employees on the rolls of the IT firm, following which the human resources department of Satyam Computer Services conducted a verification of the head count.

Read more...

Pak must ensure 26/11-like attacks don't recur: McCain

Washington, Jan 29: Pakistan should take steps that reduce the threat of a reccurence of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks, US Republican Presidential candidate for the 2008 election, John McCain, has said.
"This is what would satisfy the United States," McCain told at the conclusion of a Senate Committee hearing on the Mumbai terrorist attack at the Capitol Hill here.

"To satisfy the US ... Well actions that clearly indicate they have reduced the threat of their reoccurrence (of Mumbai terrorist attacks)," McCain said, when asked what actions of Pakistan would be satisfactory to the United States.

"I think that there are variety of reasons that argue for the arrest of the people who are responsible (for the attack) and the terrorist's organisations," he said.

Referring to the testimony by experts at Senate Committee hearing on Mumbai attack, McCain said it should be a very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

"I agree with the witness that it is very high priority to prevent heightening of tension between the two countries and the United States should do everything we can to prevent escalation of tensions," McCain said.

Earlier during the hearing McCain said the Mumbai terror attack was "well orchestrated, well trained and well planned" and had outdone security forces until commandos showed up.

"They were not necessarily suicide individuals, they were able with just handful of people to hit 10 targets... I think there are a whole lot of lessons... that may be we have not paid much attention to," he said.

Read more...

After Gehlaut, Karnataka CM won’t allow pub culture

A day after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlaut announced he will eliminate pub-culture, Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa seemed toeing the Ram Sena line when he said he will not allow pub culture to grow in the state.
“It is a most unfortunate that this incident (assault of women in a Mangalore pub last week) happened but we will not allow pub culture to grow in Karnataka,” he said.
"Anyhow, we are not going to allow such incidents to happen again in the state. Nobody should take law into their hands and it is very unfortunate. That is why I have taken immediate action and the situation is under control," he added.
He also dithered on the issue of banning right-wing group Sri Rama Sene whose activists have been arrested for last Saturday's pub incident in Mangalore in which girls and boys were thrashed. "We will discuss it with the police officers and I will discuss it with the cabinet."
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who has accused the erswtwhile Vasundhara Raje BJP government of bringing in "liquor culture", said in Jaipur the move to end pub culture in the State had nothing to do with the Mangalore incident.
However, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit saw nothing wrong in boys and girls going out together to malls when asked to comment on Gehlot voicing reservations in this regard.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said he is against all "uncivilised behaviour."

Gehlot said, "my feelings have nothing to do with the Mangalore episode. My feelings are my own and in the interest of Rajasthan and its culture".

He had drawn flak for his comments that he wanted to end the culture of boys and girls roaming around in malls holding hands.

Assuring strong action against the culprits, BJP’s first Chief Minister in the south said that his party has no connection with the Sena.

"Sri Rama Sena has no connection with BJP or any other political party. It is an individual organisation," the Chief Minister said.

Disclosing that the state has so far arrested 33 people including Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, Yeddyurappa said, "From the government's side, we have taken action and we will continue to take strong action against affiliations.

The culprits, he said, are currently booked under the charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, and also added that the police is also mulling to slap Goonda Act on the Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik and his party members who were arrested in connection with the Mangalore pub attack earlier this week.

He further accused the opposition Congress party for fuelling the matter further as it could not “digest” the growing popularity of BJP govt in the state.

Stressing that the BJP has a track record in the welfare of women, he said that the police has been given full liberty to pursue action against the culprits.

Read more...

PM likely to be discharged on Jan 30

New Delhi, Jan 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary by-pass surgery, is likely to be discharged on January 30, according to the doctors attending on him.

"He will be discharged in another day or two, depending on his condition," one of the doctors attending on him, requesting anonymity, told media.

Doctors are discussing the future course of Singh's treatment on daily basis in their internal meetings. He has shown better than expected recovery, the doctor said.

All the Intensive Care Unit equipment, used for monitoring the Prime Minister's various health parameters, was today removed and he has been shifted to an adjacent room.

The decision to shift him out of the ICU was taken by a team of doctors which included his personal physician Dr K S Reddy and repeat by-pass surgeon Dr Ramakant Panda from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute (AHI).

Dr Vijay D'Silva, an ICU specialist also from AHI and attending on the Prime Minister, said, "His is making speedy recovery in the expected time frame". The Prime Minister has been moved to an adjacent room and only his family is allowed to meet him.

"We are not allowing any guests as the Prime Minister has himself expressed desire to meet them only after he reaches home," the doctor said.

Meanwhile, President Pratibha Patil and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met the Prime Minister's wife and daughters and wished him speedy recovery.

Read more...

Lanka assures India of safe passage to Tamil civilians

Sri Lanka has assured India that the safe zone for Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE would be expanded.
Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, after returning from Colombo, told reporters here on Wednesday, that the assurance was given during his talks with the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse.

“We made it quite clear that our concerns are for the civilian population. Around 150,000 plus civilians are affected by the crossfire. In course of discussion, the President has agreed to expand the safe zone and also assured that there will be no shelling or firing in the safe zone,” Mukherjee said.

“We requested that international agencies like UN High Commission for Refugees, International Red Cross Society, and other international organisations, who are engaged in the relief measures, should be allowed to visit Sri Lanka,and see the situation with their own eyes,” he added.

Mukherjee said beside the recent upsurge in the military offensive against Tamil rebels, issues like implementation of the 13th Amendment was also discussed with Rajapakse, who assured that his government would pay attention to the issue.

“The President (of Sri Lanka) assured me that it will be the area of his urgent attention and he will try to explore the possibilities, and also try to improve the conditions further,” Mukherjee concluded.

Read more...

Prabhakaran living in bunkers: Lanka army

Cornered LTTE chief V Prabhakaran is now fighting a last ditch battle in the jungles of Mullaitivu and moving from bunker to bunker to avoid being detected, Sri Lankan military sources have said.

In Killinochchi, the army found one abandoned bunker where Prabhakaran used to stay.

These reports have come amidst the news that Sri Lankan ground forces have captured a key defensive position of the Tamil Tigers at Visuamdu, deep in the jungles of Mullaitivu.

The Sri lankan Air Force has reportedly launched simultaneous precision strikes against crucial LTTE resistance positions although it is it is not clear whether civilians have been hit too.

Read more...

Raju created 300 firms to divert funds: Govt

The government said today that Satyam Computers' disgraced founder Ramalinga Raju created a network of about 300 companies and diverted funds from one company to another in a complex but carefully planned process.
"There has been an issue of siphoning (off of) funds. This is what we have understood from the information we have received from (the) RoC, SFIO and various other agencies (probing the Satyam case)," Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta said in a TV interview.
Gupta said, "Our information is that there was a network of almost 300 compnaies and funds were diverted from one company to (another) and then to (a) third."
"So like this, it was a very complex process he had adopted," Gupta said, but added that "unless the investigation is complete we can't say what exactly happened".
Asked if it meant a carefully planned process to avoid detection, Gupta said, "...Well, to some extent I would agree with you that it was a carefully planned operation, but ... still what we personally feel it was a complex process."
Asked if other people might also be involved in the scam, Gupta said, "I feel there are other people involved."
"But if you go into the systematic inspection and investigation of the structure of the company, you come to the conclusion that the whole thing (revolves) around the Raju family only."

Read more...

India start Lanka campaign with a win

Sanath Jayasuriya's hundred went in vain as India won the opening match of the five-ODI series by 6 wickets in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Riding on Jayasuriya's sparkling 107, Sri Lanka set a target of 247 runs that India achieved with 11 balls to spare. That, however, did not deprive the Lankan opener of the 'Man of the Match' award. Jayasuriya raised 28th hundred, his 7th against India with the help of ten fours and a six.

Chasing that total, India stumbled early as they lost Sachin Tendulkar for just 5 runs. Sachin on Wednesday opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir, as the regular opener Virender Sehwag was ruled out because of an injury. Sri Lanka bowler Thilan Thushara trapped him in front of his wicket for 5 runs. It was an unfortunate decision as the ball pitched outside the leg stump and straightened to hit Sachin high on his pads. Not the best of the decisions, it was umpire Kumar Dharmasena's first in international cricket.

Suresh Raina joined Gambhir after Tendulkar's dismissal. The duo added 113 runs before Gambhir perished. Carrying his good form into the new year, Gambhir (62) struck 14th ODI half-century, his third against the hosts. In his attempt to loft Murali over the mid-off region, Gambhir erred and was taken by Thilina Kandamby at long-off as spin wizard's 501st victim.

Raina, too, fell soon after he raised his fifty. Raina (54) slammed ninth ODI half-century, his fourth against the Lankans. He gave away his wicket while trying to steal a second run off Mendis. An alert Murali did him in.

Yuvraj Singh fell as the fourth Indian wicket after Sri Lanka pacer Farveez Maharoof dismissed him for 23 runs. The Punjab left-hander added 44 runs with skipper MS Dhoni before he failed to get the desired elevation and was caught by Muralitharan who came charging from the long-on.

This middle-order collapse did not deter Dhoni who led from the front and slammed an unbeaten 61 runs. It was his 26th half-century and eighth against Jayawardene's team. He was well supported by Rohit Sharma (25*) for the fifth wicket and guided India to victory.

Earlier, electing to field first, India got the first breakthrough in the form of Tillakratne Dilshan's wicket as the Lanka opener was caught short of his crease. It was an utter mess in the middle. Dilshan played a Zaheer's delivery towards square leg and rushed for a single but Jayasuriya was not very keen and sent him back from halfway. Meanwhile, Yusuf Pathan collected the ball and knocked the stumps to see Dilshan tread back without scoring.

Losing Dilshan early on, Jayasuriya accompanied by Sangakkara added 118 runs for the second wicket. In the process he also completed 13000 ODI runs. India spinner Pragyan Ojha broke the dangerous partnership between Sangakkara and Jayasuriya as he dismissed the former for 44 runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman, playing across the line, lofted an Ojha-delivery at mid-on where Raina took a simple catch.

Jayasuriya was dismissed by India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan as he holed out a full toss delivery to Munaf Patel at mid-off.

Oldest player to score a hundred

Player	Age	Runs	Team	Against	Ground
ST Jayasuriya	39y 212d	107	Sri Lanka	India	Dambulla
G Boycott	39y 51d	105	England	Australia	Sydney
SM Gavaskar	38y 113d	103*	India	New Zealand	Nagpur
DL Haynes	38y 18d	115	West Indies	England	Port of Spain
CG Greenidge	37y 321d	117	West Indies	India	St John's

India's lanky pacer Ishant Sharma finished with three wickets. His victims were Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Farveez Maharoof and Thilina Kandamby.

Kandamby, who was sent ahead of Jayawardene, contributed just 17 runs in the 51-run partnership with the demolishing opener. He tried to launch Ishant over mid-off but could not back it with power. As a result he was caught by Zaheer.

Jayawardene, who's been struggling with his form of late, played him across the line and gifted Rohit Sharma a simple catch at mid-on. Maharoof added a quick 35 runs before a slow delivery from the Delhi bowler took an inside edge of his bat and crashed into his stumps.

The last Sri Lankan wicket to fall was of Chamara Kapugedera's. Raina knocked down Kapugedera's stumps from the extra cover as the Lanka batsman struggled to make it to his crease on time.

India: MS Dhoni (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (Captain), Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Chamara Kapugedera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Thilana Kandamby, Thilan Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis.

Read more...

IBM quietly cuts thousands of jobs

With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM Corp. is joining the fray — but not advertising it.
The Armonk, New York-based company has cut thousands of jobs over the past week, including positions in sales as well as the software and hardware divisions. IBM says the cuts are simply part of its ongoing efforts to watch costs, and the company won't release specific numbers, even as reports of firings stream in from IBM facilities across the country.
Workers have reported layoffs in Tucson, Arizona; San Jose, California; Rochester, Minnesota; Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; East Fishkill, New York; Austin, Texas; and Burlington, Vermont.
Meanwhile, other tech companies such as Intel Corp.,Microsoft Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Google Inc. have all publicly revealed job cuts as part of their strategies for riding out the economic crisis. More than 20,000 jobs will be lost from those companies.
One of IBM's biggest rivals — Hewlett-Packard Co. — is also laying people off. HP is shedding 24,600 jobs, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000 employee work force, as it digests the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp.
IBM says it doesn't have to reveal the number of jobs it is cutting, since the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose only "material" events. And IBM considers its job cuts a regular part of the company's business model, since thousands of jobs are cut every year but are usually added back in other places.
Because of that, IBM contends it doesn't have to break out its layoffs in regulatory filings unless it suddenly changes course and makes substantially more or fewer job cuts.
That's why while IBM's head count keeps growing, topping 400,000 at the end of 2008, laid-off IBM workers have flooded online job boards with complaints about the company's stealth cuts.
One estimate of IBM's recent cuts put the number at more than 4,000 jobs lost since IBM's fourth-quarter earnings announcement last week. Those earnings contained an unexpected surprise: IBM forecast at least $9.20 per share in profit in 2009. IBM shares are up more than 10 percent since then.
To get the cost savings that will help spur the higher profits, IBM appears to have acted quickly. The estimate of at least 4,000 jobs cut comes from AllianceAtIBM, a union that is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and represents a small number of IBM workers.
The Associated Press reviewed one document sent to laid-off workers that identified some of the positions that were cut. Employees weren't identified by name, but positions and the workers' ages were listed. The document listed nearly 3,000 jobs.
In Vermont, IBM remained tightlipped about layoffs at its Essex Junction facility, but state Labor Commissioner Patricia Moulton Powden said the total number would be less than 500.
IBM recently employed 5,300 workers at the Essex Junction plant, down from 8,500 in 2001.
Jim Gallo, 48, who said he worked in IBM Software support for 27 years, was among those let go from that facility. Gallo, drinking a Grey Goose and ginger ale at nearby Lincoln Inn on Tuesday, said he hadn't told his four children yet.
He said he has until Feb. 26 to find another job in IBM, but he put his chances at "slim to none." Gallo said he gets six months' pay as part of a severance package.
"It's too bad they're not doing what they were doing before. They offered some sweet packages for people to jump out," he said.
IBM's ongoing labor adjustments have led the company to add bodies in cheaper and higher-growth parts of the world, like India.
In 2007, the last full year for which detailed employment numbers are available, 121,000 of IBM's 387,000 workers were in the U.S., down slightly from the year before. Meanwhile, staffing in India has jumped from just 9,000 workers in 2003 to 74,000 workers in 2007.

Read more...

Five get life term for raping German girl

A local court on Wednesday sentenced five youths to life imprisonment for raping a 20-year-old German girl after abducting her from outside a five-star hotel last September.

All the five were convicted on Tuesday by Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Shekhar Attri in a speedy trial that lasted just a week.

The judge announced the sentence after hearing arguments in camera from both the prosecution and the defence for three hours.

The five are Pankaj Punia, Manvir Singh Jolly, Harpreet Singh Dalli, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi and Sompal.

Read more...

Pak incapable of action against terror: Pranab

As it awaits a concrete response from Pakistan on steps taken against perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks, India has raised questions on whether the government in Islamabad was deliberately not taking action against terrorists or incapable of doing so.

"Yes, one way you can make a differentiation that they are deliberately not doing or are incapable of doing. But as far as India is concerned, the net impact is the same ... the perpetrators are launching terror attacks from the territory of Pakistan," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

"The infrastructural facilities there (are) used by them (for) committing crimes in India, not necessarily in this case but in a large number of cases in the past," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera news channel.

Mukherjee said India expects the Pakistan government to act against the perpetrators of terror acts operating from Pakistani soil.

"We expect Pakistan to act. Whatever is to be done from our side we are doing so ... but Pakistan has to act because the handlers and planners (of Mumbai attacks) were from Pakistan," he said.

Mukherjee said India expects three things from Pakistan -- dismantle terror infrastructural facilities, take strong action against perpetrators of terror attacks and look for fugitives of Indian law who have committed crime in India and taken shelter in Pakistan.

Pakistan cannot shrug its responsibilities to the international community, Mukherjee said when pointed out that several areas in the neighbouring country were out of control of the government there.

"Every country is responsible to protect its territory, to protect its citizens and also to ensure that its territory is not misused by miscreants to cause trouble in neighbouring countries," he said.

Read more...

Petrol prices slashed by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 2

The government on Wednesday announced further reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs 5 and Re 2 a litre, respectively. In second round of cuts in as many months, the domestic LPG rate was also brought down by as much as Rs 25 per cylinder.

The reduction, which will be effective from midnight Wednesday, will help further ease inflationary pressures and benefit common man.

Petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre instead of the present Rs 45.62 per litre from Wednesday midnight, while diesel will be sold at Rs 30.86 per litre as against current Rs 32.86 a litre. Similarly, a 14.2-kg domestic LPG cylinder will now cost Rs 279.70 in place of Rs 304.70.

"The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has decided to reduce petrol, diesel and LPG prices to pass on the benefit of softening international oil prices to consumers," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

While state-run oil firms were making a neat Rs 9.86 a litre profit on petrol before this price reduction and Rs 3.48 on every litre of diesel, they were still losing Rs 32.97 per LPG cylinder and Rs 12.16 per litre of kerosene. The reduction could have been sharper but for the losses on LPG and kerosene.

Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey said no decision on raising excise and customs duty to mop up any extra revenue has been taken. Also, the parallel proposal of freeing petrol and diesel prices from administrative control has not been acted upon.

"The Government," he said, "will made good all of the losses of state-run retailers after accounting for Rs 32,000 crore contribution from upstream firms, through issue of oil bonds."

Deora said, "This is the first time the retail selling price has gone down below the rates in June 2006. There is no inflationary impact at all because of fuel now." Petrol on June 6, 2006 was priced at Rs 47.51 a litre in Delhi, diesel at Rs 32.47 and domestic LPG at Rs 294.75.

"After reduction, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 40.62 a litre, diesel Rs 30.86 and domestic LPG Rs 279.70 per cylinder," he said.

"We believe in keeping the promises. We had promised to reduce prices when international prices come down and now we have done it. This is a big step that will help common man," Deora said.

2008-09 had witnessed an unprecedented volatility in international oil prices. While on the one hand, the Indian basket of crude oil touched $142 per barrel on July 3, on the other, it plummeted to $35.83 a barrel on December 24.

In spite of the softening in oil prices, the PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs) incurred under-recoveries of more than Rs 106,000 crore during April-December 2008 on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene.

To compensate the public sector OMCs, the Government has already approved issue of oil bonds of Rs 60,967 crore and the upstream oil companies - ONGC, GAIL and OIL - have contributed Rs 32,000 crore.

"Whatever is the under-recovery (revenue loss) at the end of the fiscal, will be compensated by the Government through issue of oil bonds," Pandey said, adding more oil bonds could be issued.

Read more...

Ram Sena chief arrested for Mangalore pub violence

The Mangalore police on Wednesday arrested Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik in the Mangalore pub-assault case, hours after he got bail in another case in Davanagere.
Muthalik was taken into custody on Jan 27 for an inflammatory speech in Davangere. He got bail in the case but was re-arrested by the Mangalore police for pub-violence on January 24.
Police had requested the Davangere court to hand over Muthalik for interrogation, IGP (Western Range) A M Prasad told agencies here today.
He told a TV channel that the Davanagere police wil hand over Muthalik to Mangalore police which will interrogate him in connection with the pub-attack case. He said cases have been registered against the 27 others under criminal interrogation, trespass, molestation, criminal conspiracy. Charges will be fixed against Muthalik once he is questioned, Prasad added.
Earlier, all the 27 Sri Ram Sena workers in a local court, who have been arrested in connection with the attack on girls in a Mangalore pub.
The investigators believe that Muthalik’s custody will help police in obtaining more information about other prominent members of the organisation who are still at large.
All schools and colleges across Mangalore remained closed today and the students' community has started a signature campaign demanding stringent action against the culprits while expressing sympathy towards the victims.
Prior to Muthalik’s arrest, police also picked up the Sri Ram Sena vice president Prasad Attavar and 10 others in connection with the case.
However, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik later apologised for the attack on weekend revellers at a Mangalore pub, saying the way the right-wing group acted "was wrong" but insisted it was done to "save our mothers and daughters".
Muthalik also denied his affiliation with the BJP and said he was only working for Hindutva.
The BJP government in the state has earned sharp criticism for its insufficient and slow response to the shameful act.
In view of the increasing public pressure, BJP president also condemned the incident as an "unacceptable act of hooliganism".
Complicating things for the BJP government, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Tuesday constituted a three member panel to probe the incident.

Read more...

Israel pounds Gaza as it mulls unilateral ceasefire

There was no let up in the Israeli attacks on Hamas-held Gaza as Tel Aviv weighed a unilateral ceasefire proposal to the 22-day-old war which has killed nearly 1,200 people, half of them civilians.

Israel on Sunday bombarded Gaza ahead of a meeting of its security cabinet that is expected to decide on a proposal for end to the war after the Tel Aviv received pledges from Washington and Cairo to help prevent arms smuggling into the Islamist-run enclave from Egypt.

The Israeli government is expected to vote today to decide whether to declare a unilateral cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip that would being to an an end the three-week-long 'Operation Cast Lead'.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni signed a deal with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday under which Tel Aviv would end its offensive even without a reciprocal agreement from Hamas. Israeli forces would remain in Gaza and the territory's border crossings with Israel and Egypt would remain closed until security arrangements are made to prevent Hamas arms smuggling.

"This campaign is not a one-time event. We will need to have our hand on the pulse," she said. "The test will be the day after. That is the test of deterrence," she told the Israeli YNet news Web site.

"I hope we are entering the endgame and that our goal of sustained and durable quiet in the south is about to be attained," Prime Minister Ehut Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said.

Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader in Damascus, rejected the ceasefire demands yesterday, insisting that Israel should withdraw its troops immediately. Israels offensive has killed nearly 1,200 Palestinians half of them civilians. Ten Israeli 10 soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket strikes.

Read more...

Dutt promises Gandhigiri, not to contest against vajpayee

Sanjay Dutt made his political debut in style in Lucknow on Saturday, with a roadshow which he himself led riding on a bike. But the newly minted ‘neta’ also declared he would not contest against Vajpayee.

"I respect Atalji a lot. He is like my father....If he contests election from here, then netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) has also asked me not to contest elections", Dutt told reporters here.

Asked about the reaction of Congress MP Priya Dutt to Sanjay's contesting the elections, Amar Singh said that she was like her younger sister and he himself, if Priya would permit, would campaign for her along with Sanjay in the coming Loksabha polls.

In reply to a question, Dutt, who appeared in the Munnabhai series of films based on Mahatma Gandhi's ideals, said his plank would be Gandhigiri in coming elections.

About what would he do against Mayawati government charged with corruption by SP, Dutt, reflecting Gandhigiri, said he would like to give her flowers.

On whether he would prefer Manyatta to be in fray for the seat if he would not be allowed by the court to contest the elections, Dutt said it would be decided by SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.

Sanjay Dutt, who will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Lucknow constituency on a Samajwadi Party ticket, said at his first press conference as a ‘neta’ that he was looking forward to becoming a politician and serve the nation. Dutt also said that he was thankful to SP for giving him a chance to serve the people.

It was a star-studded press conference where Dutt was flanked by actors Manoj Tewari, Jaya Prada and Jaya Bachchan. He was also accompanied with his wife Manyatta and SP party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.

On his decision to join to the SP, Dutt stated that post the demise of his father Sunil Dutt, he felt lonely. In this bleak time, it was Amar Singh who stayed alongside him, he added. After coming to Lucknow, Dutt said further, he feels that he is not alone.

Dutt thanked Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh for their support and especially mentioned Digvijay Singh -- a senior Congressmen -- for saying that it was wrong to arrest him (Sanjay) under TADA. Dutt noted that it was after 17 years when Congress had said something on his arrest.

He reiterated that his father did a lot for the nation and he looks forward to doing the same for the nation.

Read more...

Satyam board appoints new chairman; seeks funds

Hyderabad, Jan 17: The new board of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services on Saturday cleared the name of TN Manoharan, as the group’s new chairman. According to reports, Manoharan is a former President of ICAI and also a part of the present Satyam board.
Amarchand & Mangaldas, Suresh A Shroff and Co have been appointed legal advisers to Satyam board. Where as Chartered accountants Brahmayya and Co of Chennai have been named internal auditors with immediate effect.

The decision in this regard was taken by the board members, who met to look for ways to raise new funds after both the government and the company rejected talks of a state rescue bid.

The Satyam board has decided to meet on weekly basis with each member taking turns to chair meeting.

However, the search for CEO and CFO still continues. The board is currently engaged in discussions with banks and financial institutions to address liquidity issue.

Discussions about the financial situation of the company in the backdrop of Ram Mynampati's SoS to the Corporate Affairs Ministry is expected to dominate the agenda, as also complaints from accounting regulator ICAI about the board's choice of auditor to restate Satyam's financials.

Ahead of the crucial board meeting Kiran Karnik, one of the six members of the newly constituted board of the crisis-ridden IT firm, said they may discuss the issue of funding as well as the appointment of CEO and CFO.

"The most important issue is funding.... I do think that if we can tie up some funding then it will give great comfort to the employees and to the customers...," Karnik told a TV channel.

Another board member Tarun Das said, “Our priority is to safeguard Satyam employees and customer interests.”

Satyam, India's No 4 software services exporter, has been battling for survival since chairman Ramalinga Raju suddenly resigned last week, revealing profits had been falsified for years and that USD 1 billion of cash on the books did not exist.

Media speculation of government aid has mounted as analysts questioned whether India's biggest corporate fraud had left the outsourcing firm with enough money to pay its 50,000 staff.

Meanwhile, NASSCOM has asked its members not to grab Satyam’s clients. Reportedly, several Satyam clients have got in touch with it.

But Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla told reporters on Thursday that the government was not looking at any direct support for the company or bailout "at this stage”.

Deepak Parekh, a senior banker and Satyam board member, said it had Rs 17 billion (USD 348 million) in receivables and may not need new funding if the money came in on time.

But Parekh added the board would consider bank loans if necessary.

However, reports suggested said that Satyam has not asked government for any financial aid. After the formation of the new Satyam board some banks have come forward and offered help to the troubled company. Earlier company’s new board had sought bank loans.

The government, which dissolved Satyam's previous board last week, appointed three new directors on Sunday and another three late on Thursday to help steer the company out of crisis.

Company Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta said the first impression from the new directors about the company is that its operations are sound and that "by and large" major customers were willing to remain with the firm.

"All these are steps in the right direction ... but they need to get a CEO and CFO in place first to run the company's daily operations. That should be a priority," said Gajendra Nagpal, chief executive of Unicon Financial.

The expanded Satyam board is yet to decide on the appointment of new CEO and CFO to bring back the company's operation to normalcy.

Although the board had appointed KPMG and Deloitte, ICAI had objected to the appointment of KPMG, since it is not the member of ICAI, which may also figure in the meeting.

Satyam's shares jumped as much as 40 percent on Friday to 28.40 rupees after the government doubled the size of the board, but the stock has still lost over 80 percent of its value since the massive fraud was revealed.

Many questions about the accounting scandal remain to be answered: how large is it, who benefited, and how did the perpetrators manage to conceal it for so long?

Even if Satyam escapes a near-term cash crunch, it faces a long road to recovery.

The new board will have to keep clients from defecting to Satyam's rivals, fend off a growing number of lawsuits over the scandal and try to rebuild investor trust.

Lazard Asset Management said in a notice to the stock exchange on Friday it had sold all of its 5.3 percent holding in Satyam through open market transactions on Thursday.

Satyam's clients include corporate giants such as Nestle and General Electric.

Satyam's founder Raju, his brother who was the managing director of the company and the former chief financial officer, have been charged and are being held in a jail.

Read more...

Pakistan's report on 26/11 terror attacks in 10 days

Acknowledging that the dossier on Mumbai attacks given by India contained "leads and good clues", Pakistan on Saturday promised fair investigation even if its citizens are suspected and said its results will be shared with New Delhi first.

Pakistan said it wanted to have an approach of "cooperative engagement" with India as war is no solution to the problem of terrorism which is a global phenomenon.

"Quite a lot of material" was provided by India and the Pakistani investigators will work to convert this into "evidence that can stand up to judicial scrutiny", Interior Ministry chief Rahman Malik told a press conference in Islamabad.

No case regarding the Mumbai attacks has been registered so far in Pakistan. "If prima facie evidence is available on record, we will then convert it into a criminal case," Malik said, adding the time needed for any prosecution would depend on the judiciary.

He said the three-member counter-terror team, probing the Mumbai attack and examining the Indian dossier, has been directed to submit its preliminary findings within 10 days. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the interior ministry is examining India's dossier on the Mumbai attacks that was handed over to Pakistan on January 5.

"We have said that after examining the dossier, completing our investigation and examining information from other sources, we will share our findings with India first," Qureshi said.

Pakistan will pursue an approach of "cooperative engagement" to deal with any further questions that may arise with regard to the Mumbai incident, he said.

Qureshi said if "any individual or entity linked to Pakistan" is found involved in the Mumbai attacks, the government will take action against them according to the country's law.

Replying to a question in his hometown of Multan, he said the Mumbai incident was not a matter confined to India and Pakistan as nationals of several countries, including the US and Britain, were killed in the attacks.

"We have been successful in conveying our stand that war is not the solution and that terrorism is a global and regional phenomenon. We need a regional approach," he said. "We don't want to create war hysteria.

The political and military leadership has made measured comments and we will stick to this. We will remain vigilant and it is our endeavour to de-escalate and defuse the situation," Qureshi added.

He, however, alleged that there was "no consistency" in India's stance in dealing with the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.

"There is no consistency in India's stance," Qureshi said, referring to what he described as flip-flops by New Delhi on matters like the involvement of the Pakistani state and its institutions in the Mumbai attacks and the prosecution of suspects.

He accused that Indian leaders had changed their position after initially stating that the Pakistan government and its institutions were not involved in the incident. He also said they had made a shift after stating that any Pakistani individuals linked to the attacks could be tried within the country.

"You can see the changes. Pakistan's stand is strong and consistent we honestly want to get to the bottom of the matter and the elements involved should be unmasked. The perpetrators should be brought to justice," Qureshi said. MORE PTI RHL ZH 01172142 DELHI NNNN

PRI GEN INT Meanwhile, Malik said that Pakistan was not acting under pressure from India and will not accept "dictation" from anyone regarding the probe.

Asked about British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's comments yesterday that Pakistan needs to go "farther and faster" in prosecuting those involved in the Mumbai attacks, Malik said: "We will not accept anyone's instructions to do things faster."

Malik outlined the terms of reference and guidelines for the investigating team, which was directed to conduct "a transparent and legally tenable inquiry". The team will "establish legally verifiable credentials of suspects allegedly involved in the terrorist attack".

It would "inquire into the available information supplied by India with the view to transforming (it) into evidence for further legal action". It will also collect "all other related evidence for legal action according to the law of Pakistan".

Malik said all further action would be taken according to Pakistani laws, virtually ruling out the handing over of any suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks to India.

He reiterated Pakistan's demand for a joint probe into the incident, saying: "Our investigators must interact. If you want good and quick results, please allow your investigators to interact with us."

He said the "best course of action" would be for investigators from both sides to interact and share information because terrorists are the "common enemies" of India and Pakistan.

Malik also assured the world community and Indian authorities that Pakistan is "very serious in its commitments" to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. "We are with India and...we are doing everything possible to bring the suspects, militants and terrorists to justice," he said.

Read more...

Sensex up 299 pts, closes at 9,370

The markets finally shrugged off the Satyam shock on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex recording a gain of nearly 300 points on buying support, led by market leader Reliance Industries and blue-chips Reliance Communication Infosys Technologies.

The BSE barometer, which had lost nearly 17 percent in a string of losses since January 7 when Satyam fraud came to light, today jumped 299.13 points to close at 9,370.49.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also shot up by 90.35 points at 2813.45.

Reliance Communications soared 10.38 percent to come out as the biggest gainer among the Sensex stocks today. Reliance Industries, the most valued private sector company, surged nine percent as the stock looked more attractive following reports that promoters have increased their stake in the company to over 49 percent as of December quarter.

IT bellwether Infosys which yesterday posted over 33 percent growth for the December quarter rose for the second day in succession. With today's gain of 6.07 percent, the software company has jumped over 12 percent in two days. Mahindra & Mahindra, which launched the multipurpose vehicle Xylo was the another prominent gainer at 5.39 percent.

RIL and Infosys together carry nearly 23 percent weightage on the Sensex.

Expectations of further fall in inflation, the weekly data for which will be announced tomorrow, and firm global trend weres other boosting factors for the equity markets.

Among sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index was the best performer today at 5.85 percent, followed by IT index at 5.02 percent. Tech, reatly and metal indices also closed higher in the range of over 4 percent.

Read more...

Employees face fallout of Satyam fiasco

Satyam's tag line is "Business Transformation. Together". In the last one week, its 50000 employees have seen their lives transformed in a way they never anticipated. If the Satyam I-card was once a coveted passport, now it seems banks and car dealers have become extremely wary of the Satyam brandname.

On Saturday, a day after Ramalinga Raju was arrested, CEO of Satnav Technologies Amit Prasad got two SMSes and a call from his three credit card agencies. All of them informing him that his credit card limit had been slashed by 80 to 90 per cent. Prasad suspects this is because the agencies perhaps still have his name as a Satyam employee even though he quit the company five years back.

"It is too much of a coincidence that three people call or SMS me on the same day and say your credit limit is slashed by 80 per cent. It is a case of people going overboard. Other examples are a pearl dealer saying discounts are no longer available on a certain identity card. If I am walking in with cash, why should that be there. If I am ready to pay cash for a car loan, why should I be denied a discount?'' he says.

The fallout of the Satyam fiasco is being felt by other IT professionals as well. In the last one week, many of them were reportedly asked to furnish their December salary certificate to banks that have extended home loans to them.

Vikram Kumar, director (India), MAQ Software, says: "A number of my friends told me that their project and HR managers are being contacted to ask whether they are viable and worth giving the credit cards and home loans.''

For Satyam employees, clearly the period of uncertainty is made worse by what seems to be the larger impact of working for what was one of India's most respected software companies.

Read more...

India ready for war, if need be: Army chief

Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan and reports of troop build-up post 26/11, Army Chief Major General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday said that Indian troops are ready in case of a war.

Reiterating that the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks were from Pakistan, General Kapoor said, "We do feel that the perpetrators of 26/11 were from Pakistan. In view of that, in India we are keeping all our options open.”

Admitting that the tensions between the two nations have increased post Mumbai terror attack the Army Chief said that the Indian troops are war ready. "It must be understood that it is not to create any war hysteria and the options include diplomatic, economic and, as a last resort, fighting," he said at a press conference.

Gen Kapoor added that the Army was aware about troop movement from FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) to Pakistan's eastern border with India. "Having known this fact, let me assure you that the Indian Army has factored this in its plans."

On being asked about the recent Poonch encounter in Mendhar, General Kapoor accepted that the gun battle was a tough one.

Replying to a question on the alleged marriage of an Indian Army medic posted in Afghanistan Gen Kapoor said, "According to that woman, her marriage took place in the month of December but as per our records the doctor was posted there from January to November."

Earlier in the day, Gen Kapoor had agreed to providing Army paratroopers for manning new NSG hubs set to come up in four cities to tackle any terror threat.

'Problems being faced'

"Whatever paratroopers or other troops are required to enhance the capabilities of the NSG, we will provide them," Gen Kapoor said on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Threats and Challenges for the Indian Army'.

"The Army is certainly facing shortage of officers and we will see how we can combat it. But if the government needs manpower in the anti-terror operations, we will certainly provide them," he said when queried about the Army's manpower constraint and meeting the government demand for NSG.

He further said that the Special Forces (SF) should enhance its capabilities and develop interoperability with the NSG to tackle the terror threat and stressed on the need for every armed unit of the Army to have the capability to counter heightened threats from terrorists.

"Every combat arms unit should have a limited, yet focused capability to meet such challenges," Gen Kapoor said.

He said that the country will continue to rely on SF of the three Services to tackle the threat from terrorists till the time the NSG was able to expand to its planned capacities.

"The country will continue to rely on some of the SF, which are there with the respective services, predominantly with the Army, should there be a situation," the Army Chief said.

Stating that the Army will need to upgrade its capabilities to tackle low-intensity conflicts (LICO), he said, "We will require renewed focus on the upgrading of the counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency capabilities based on emerging technologies to train and equip our soldiers to fight cleaner, better and safer."

Counter-terror ops

Gen Kapoor said that the force would continue to play a role in counter-terrorist operations, even though they were the responsibility of the forces under the Home Ministry.

"Countering terrorism and managing internal security primarily remains the responsibility of the Home Ministry and agencies under it. However, since heightened terrorist attacks have become a reality today, we need to take some measures for self-protection and provide assistance to the Central forces in times of emergencies," Army Chief said.

He said that the armed forces were required to maintain a high level of combat readiness at all times to meet emergencies.

"We live in troubled times and a fragile region and the possibility of a marginal conventional conflict cannot be ruled out. We must maintain high level of combat readiness at all times," he said.

On the nuclear threat faced by the region, Gen Kapoor said, "The presence of nuclear weapons in our neighbourhood, underlines the fact that any conventional war can at any time turn in to a nuclear war, provided a certain thresh-hold is crossed by either side."

Read more...

MBA student gangraped in Noida, 5 held

Infamous for Nithari and Aarushi murder case, Noida has witnessed another shocking crime against woman -- gangrape of a 24-year old student outside a major shopping mall.
The victim, a management student, had gone for a drive with a friend when she was gangraped by 10 people.
Five of them were arrested and they have confessed to the crime.
"All ten of us saw them in the car, pulled them out and raped her," said one of the accused.
It's a chilling confession of a barbaric act. These men, all in their early 20s, are in custody.
"The victim left the mall after shopping in a wagon R after 5 pm with a friend. They were stopped by four bikers as they took a turn who forced themselves into the car. They overpowered them and drove them to a secluded spot where the girl was raped," said the investigators.
Later, the men on bikes were joined by more people. All the accused were in touch with each other on their mobile phones, which helped the police to track down five of them easily. However, five more are still absconding.
Though a quick action from Noida police led to arrest of five victims, the police still have their work cutout to find the five who are still absconding.

Read more...

After Opposition cry, govt mulls revisiting NIA Act

Addressing concerns expressed by some half-a-dozen Opposition ruled states, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the National Investigating Agency (NIA) Act may be revisited.

"We will revisit the NIA Act, if needed," he told reporters at the end of a day-long conference of Chief Ministers on internal security.

Participating in the meeting, Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states said that the new National Investigation Agency would "disturb" the federal set up of the country and resented that states were not consulted before the new anti-terror laws were framed.

Admitting that nearly half-a-dozen states expressed some "reservations" over the NIA, Chidambaram said he would write to all Chief Ministers detailing the contents of the NIA and tell them to write back to him if they require clarifications.

Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said a "proactive" approach is needed to root out threats emanating from "potential" terrorists operating in the country in a clandestine manner.

"Our response to terrorism cannot be reactive. There is ample evidence that many terrorist modules have burrowed their way into the country. There are also many sleeper cells.

"We must adopt a proactive approach to apprehend these people and thwart any possible terrorist threat. In this regard, too, the key is gathering and sharing intelligence and responding in a coordinated manner to apprehend the potential terrorist," Chidambaram said while addressing the Conference of Chief Ministers on internal security in New Delhi.

He asked the Chief Ministers to put in place a clear command structure in the case of a terrorist threat or attack.

"There must be no ambiguity or confusion about who is in-charge, all aspects must be spelt out clearly and made known to the state police department as well as other forces that may be requisitioned in the case of a terrorist threat or a terrorist attack," he said.

The Home Minister asked the Chief Ministers to strengthen the intelligence gathering function at the ground level (police station) in their respective states.

"There must be at least one person of the rank of the head constable or an assistant sub-inspector who is exclusively charged with this (intelligence gathering) responsibility -- and is burdened with no other work," he said.

"Besides the Special Branch must be strengthened and adequate number of Special Branch personnel must be posted in districts and major towns," Chidambaram said.

He asked the Chief Ministers to draft a strategy for "seamless flow of intelligence in real time" from a police station to National Capital via District Headquarters and state capital and vice versa.

"Beginning January 1, 2009 the Multi Agency Centre has begun to function on a 247 basis and is now legally obliged to share intelligence with all other agencies, including agencies of the Governments of the states and Union Territories," he said.

"Under the Modernisation of Police Forces Scheme, there is a component to enhance the capacity of Special Branch of state police and I would request you to implement the agreed plans expeditiously," Chidambaram told the Chief Ministers.

He said objectives to raise the level of preparedness to meet increasingly sophisticated terrorist attacks and enhancing the speed and decisiveness of response mechanism should be achieved in a relatively short period of time.

Police personnel should be given special training and advanced equipment to deal with such threats, he said.

"The Central government proposes to set up hubs of the National Security Guard in different parts of the country. To begin with, hubs will be set-up in four cities."

"Some other cities will be covered by a trained anti-terrorist force provided by defence forces -- for example Bengaluru will be covered by the Army. In the course of time, NSG hubs will be set up in more centres," he said and asked the states to raise and deploy their own anti-terrorist forces and offered them all the help from the Centre.

Read more...

Can’t believe Pak govt unaware of 26/11 plot:India

India on Monday handed over the dossier of evidence to Pakistan proving the involvement of elements in that country in the Mumbai carnage. Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said that not only was the conspiracy behind the attacks hatched in the neighbouring country but it was hard to believe that no one in the administration was aware about it.
Addressing the media here, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said that now that India had provided evidence, Pakistan should extend all its assistance to bring the perpetrators to Indian justice.

Observing that the investigation into the serial terror attacks in mumbai were not over, the Foreign Secretary said while the crime was committed in India, the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan.
"Hence we have requested Pakistan to fulfil her commitments to us," he said.
' Act now '
“India has asked Pakistan to investigate the evidence material given to it on the Mumbai terror attacks and extend legal assistance so that the perpetrators could be brought to justice,” Menon said.
Menon pointed out that the investigation and the evidence it produced has led India to believe that the kind of operation undertaken in Mumbai couldn’t have been planned without someone being in the know.
“Conspiracy behind the crime (in Mumbai) was hatched in Pakistan and hence India has requested Pakistan to fulfil its commitments,” Menon said.
' Not interested in mechanisms '
India hopes that Pakistan will not "repeat the previous pattern" of not cooperating when India shared evidence regarding the attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul, Menon said.
”We don’t want any mechanisms. There are ample mechanisms under SAARC etc. We want actions, not words,” he said.
Legal assistance from Pakistan extends up to and includes extradition (of perpetrators of Mumbai attacks), he said on being asked if India had asked Pakistan to hand-over the accused to it.
He also rubbished the ‘non-state-actors theory.
Ban on JuD ineffective
India also alleged that the ban on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the parent organisation of LeT- was not working. “Their website is still being updated. We have not been told officially that action is being taken against terror organisations. India is not impressed,” Menon emphasised.
He also pointed out that banning of terror organisations had taken ion the past, but to no avail.
Our goals are clear. We want the perpetrators to be brought to Indian justice, he added.
Lobbying world-over
He also revealed that India was actively lobbying with all friendly countries around the world so that concrete action is taken against terrorists in Pakistan.
“We have begun the process of briefing foreign countries. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has written to his counterparts around the world about the evidence. We have today held special briefings for the ambassadors of those countries whose nationals were killed in Mumbai,” he said.
He informed that India had shared the evidence with China.
"This is a threat to the international community and not India”, that is why we are putting forth the evidence, Menon added.

Read more...

CMs meet to discuss strategy against terror

A meeting of Chief Ministers will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday for a 'focused discussion' on the issue of terrorism and evolve a strategy to improve intelligence sharing in a well coordinated manner.
"The whole idea is to have a focused discussion on terrorism and how the states and the Centre can join and share intelligence," Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters.
The meeting, to be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, assumes significance as it is going to be held in the wake of Mumbai terror attack.
Noting that intelligence sharing alone can act as a preventive mechanism, Gupta said the day-long meeting will deliberate on what should be done at the state level and how best the Centre can assist the states in terms of money, manpower and weaponry.
He said the Centre was ready to increase the budget for police modernisation in states, but added that the central funds should be used more on priority needs like weaponry and special mobility requirements rather than police housing.
The Home Secretary said Tuesday's exercise will be followed by a meeting of chief ministers of seven states badly affected by the naxal violence, termed as the single biggest threat to internal security.
Need for increasing police strength, setting up of a specialised police force and the issue of improving coastal security will be discussed threadbare, he said.
Involvement of community to improve intelligence gathering and filling up of large number of vacancies in state police are likely to be suggested at the meeting.

Read more...

Rupee holds steady at 48.56 against dollar

Indian rupee pared most of its early gains against the dollar on Monday, as demand for the US currency from importers and a state-run banks weighed.
The Indian currency had appreciated in the intraday trade as the mood remained bullish after hefty rate cuts by the central Bank.
Rupee closed at 48.56/58 per dollar, little changed from its Friday's close of 48.58/60.

Read more...

Mumbai attackers had links to Pakistani soil: US

Stating it was "clear" that the Mumbai attackers had "links that lead to Pakistani soil", senior US diplomat Richard Boucher Monday evening said Pakistan and India should cooperate in the probe into the carnage as each possessed "pieces of the puzzle" that could help find the perpetrators.
While urging the South Asian neighbours to cooperate in the probe, the US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia said, "Each side has pieces of the puzzle and they need to be known to each other."

"The two sides need to exchange information. People have to work with each other," Boucher said at a press conference at the US embassy, Geo TV reported.
The US diplomat arrived here early Monday for talks with the Pakistani leadership in a bid to defuse the tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad sparked by the 26/11 attacks in which more than 170 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed.
India Monday handed over to Islamabad evidence linking the terrorists behind the attacks to elements in Pakistan, which Boucher described as a positive step.
Boucher said it was "clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil".
He also said Pakistan's crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity with links to the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), showed the country's "commitment to eliminate sources of terrorism on Pakistani soil".
"There is determination here to follow up and find the groups that are responsible so they never do it again," he said.
Boucher is to go to India for meetings with leaders in New Delhi.

Read more...

Pak must follow the leads given by India: Boucher

Pakistan must follow the leads given by India and track down the perpetrators. This is US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher's clear and strong message to the Pakistani government after his meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Speaking at the American Embassy in Islamabad, Boucher said, "It was clear that the attackers had links that lead to Pakistani soil. The US wants Pakistan to investigate the information provided by India, follow available leads and track down perpetrators so that similar attacks do not occur in the future. India and Pakistan both had "pieces of the puzzle".
Richard Boucher's statement came just hours after New Delhi handed over evidence on the Mumbai attacks to Pakistan. Boucher who is scheduled to be in New delhi on Wednesday also said America had a direct interest in the probe as six of its citizens were killed in the Mumbai attacks and wants those responsible to be found.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Pakistan's Information Minister Sherry Rahman has confirmed that Pakistan had received the evidence and would carry out an investigation.
Media reports in Pakistan are quoting government sources as saying that a joint investigative committee would be formed to look into the evidences that New delhi has handed over to Islamabad.
According to sources, the committee would look closely into places, telephone numbers and Internet Protocols addresses pointed out in evidences.
The committee would also form the future course of action after carrying out a preliminary enquiry.

Read more...